Sunsets with SX 50

My sunset shots are bad. Sun is washed out with a halo. What is the best setting for a sunset shot?
thanks,
Larry
Solved!
Go to Solution.

The easiest, though not exactly inexpensive, solution to this is to get what's called a "reverse graduated neutral density filter". These are clear on the bottom, turn very dense sharply in the middle and then fade less dense toward the top. Good ones are rectangular and fit in a dedicated holder that attaches to adapter rings sized for various lenses. For your SX50 you'd need a filter adapter (we'll asume Canon's 67 mm one for now) for the SX50 (to supply threads for filters to screw in to). This will also let you use a polarizer, to control reflections and sometimesdarken the blues of the sky. Next would be a filter holder and adapter ring. For the SX50 a Cokin P filter holder will do, and the 67 mm adapter ring. Next you'll need a reverse grad (I'd suggest 3 stops). Singh Ray makes them to fit the Cokin P filter holder. There may be other companies that do but Singh Ray does very colour-neutral ones. Put all these pieces together, compose your picture and put the transition right over the sun.
If that sounds expensive, there are software approaches. One involves taking several exposures, bracketing so you expose for the sky, the sun, and the ground, then stacking them in a "high-dynamic range" (HDR) single image. Many applications are available to do this.
Alternatively, since your SX50 can shoot RAW, take a single shot, exposed for the upper sky and use Digital Photo Pro to adjust the darker and brighter areas to bring out the best detail in all of them. The first few times you try this you might want to bracket and see what gives you the best results.
These three approaches will give you different results; personally I prefer the results from using the Singh Ray reverse grad.
Jon of POTN

Similar Messages

Help with assignment- buttons that control movie clips

I am pretty new to flash and my professor gave us an assignment with little help or tutorials.
He wants us to create a SWF that features a house and it's front yard and two buttons.
One button that says Sunrise, and one that says Sunset.
When I push the sunrise button, the sun needs to rise above the house and stay there. When I push the Sunset button, it needs to set- and then a ufo needs to land on the lawn.
So i think I have a pretty good grasp on the assignment, but the actionscript is throwing me off. How can I make buttons that will control the sun movie clip to rise- stay above the house, and then set? The ufo is a whole new matter. The sunset button should make the sun lower and then a ufo land on the lawn.
Please help explain/link me to the proper tutorials. One thing that i'm worried about is that the sun will rise- and then stay above the house even if i click the sunset button.
Your help is greatly appreciated.

Well i can think of a few ways to do this.
Depending on what you have been taught so far you should be able to do this if you know how to make a button, a movie clip, and the basic script for the timeline. ie. play,stop, gotoandplay etc.
I understand you have been set a task and you want the answer straight away. But i doubt he would have given you anything you couldn't handle. Also I learnt more from trial and error and searching the net than from most of my teachers at coll and uni, It's frustrating i know, but the buzz you get when you finally crack it is amazing. Stick in there!
That being said i remember the panic I suffered and like to help so here's a thought:
You could just have the 2 buttons play a basic movie clip. The sky could rotate one way to make the sun rise and add a "stop" in the actions to make it stay there, and to the left to sunset with both images together but not being shown all the time by using a mask. You could even add in the ufo to the clip but this would only work if you added an extra part to the movie so that when the ufo has landed it flys out again and then begins to rotate the sun and moon again. ( buttons would be dissabled during the play modes to avoid chaos) This is just a quick thought. I'm sure there are several ways of doing this depending on how fancy it needs to be.
If your teacher really has given you no notes on buttons,movieclips and actionscript i would sujest Adobe TV. Nice videos that explain step by step. OR try downloading a tutorial file with buttons and movie clips and look at the coding they use in the file. Thats how i have learnt most of it since finishing Uni.
Good Luck
Cobie

Poor photo quality in iMovie

When I import a still picture into iMovie from either the desktop or from the media library and use it in a movie, the quality of the photo suddenly becomes terrible in both the iMovie preview screen immediately upon import and later in the actual exported movie.
Here's an example which dramatically illustrates this problem:
Here is a JPEG photo I took at sunset with a Nikon D7000.
The picture is intentially underexposed as it is one of the final shots in a time lapse sunset movie.
Now, here's the photo exported into a 1080p iMovie!
The photo is now horrible! Gag me!
I've tried various settings in "Export using QuickTime" and the quality does not improve. From my research, it appears this has been a persistent issue.
Has anyone found a good work around?, or alternate workflow?

Jim
No one asked the ? of the sizes of the pictures
that you are putting into iMovie?
When I do a slide show I use from 1 to 2.5mg.
I go from Photoshop E / iPhoto to a folder on my DT then drag to iMovie without going to iPhoto.
iPhoto is an easy import. I do use it from time to time.
I do not crop, I use iMovie. I find that a better way.
I do not use KB to import. I then change some to KB.
Special effects no more then every 5th frame.I do break that one too.
I also use Toast.It works for me.
Karl-I like that thread- I put that in my iMovie folder.
Woodie
iMac 20 G5 BT AP Rev A / iMac G3 / in the closet Performa 6115CD / ll SE Mac OS X (10.4.4)

Color temperature adjustment

Hello,
A really good feature would be color temperature adjustment for Adjustment Brush and Graduated Filter to be able to set a corect white balance through the whole picture. This could be a scenario: a sunset with (partialy) falling shadows (from trees) on some people. Also to have a White Balance Selector for those two adjustments.
Thanks.

What I was asking is a different method to achieve the same results what is possible with levels/curves/color balance etc without going into lab mode. (btw, the lack of a grey picker and the zoned approach of color balance isn't ideal sometimes)
thank you for reminding me that I need to brush up on my color theory. your reply has a tone of "why are you asking this, there are already tools for this" which I find a bit too conservative, when my intention is to make PS even more user friendly... if we would go with your paradigm, we wouldn't need levels, because everybody could just use curves, and yet both are very popular and often used based on the users preferences.
what I am asking is bringing the white balance settings from ACR into an adjustment layer, with all it's implications.
it would enable users to specifically balance images with mixed light sources (with the proposed color temp/WB adjustment layer with it's mask) by entering values in kelvin, and not some arbitrary numbers from 0-1 or 0-255. it would be so much easier to balance tungsten to daylight by adding 2000 kelvin to the image, or to control a straw gel that was added somewhere in the scene. I can imagine so many applications for this adjustment layer...

Camera Profile color rendition in highlights - rings around the sun

i It's a repost from the Labs forum. Since it's closed now, and I have an unanswered post from Thomas Knoll, I'll repost it here.
I took one of those hard scenes for Lightroom - a sunrise - to see how it handles color and highlight rendition around the sun. I alway loved how Capture One was able to render a soft, almost film-like, roll-off in such scenes, where Lightroom/ACR often created multi-level rings around the sun.
The test: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3146/2720834788_3662267c60_o.png
Lightroom's color almost exactly matches Nikon's, but the way the highlights are rendered around the sun... well, you see.
I have tried to play with the settings in LR (recovery, curves) but couldn't repair it while retaining overall color and tone. Tried the Profile Editor: kinda could hide the rings by setting the lightness of the appropriate color to about 10 (saturation didn't help), but that made the image a little darker too. Compensated with the tone curve - worked well, but other images (with colors other than orange, like in this one) were a little "broken".
So, the profiles a little beta indeed.
P.S. Btw, the base curve of Nikon's camera matching profiles (see in the screenshot) looks a little strange with the highlight almost under the ceiling. Canon's base curves look more common.
b Thomas Knoll:
Which profile are you using? (If not the Adobe Standard, how does that handle this image?)

Some feedback on the profiles in Lightroom for my EOS 30D ...
I'm also finding banding around bright suns and in sunsets with Lightroom.
I get the banding in different variations with all the different profiles in Lightroom: Adobe Standard, ACR 4.4, Camera Standard, Faithful and Neutral.
Here is a side by side comparison with the outputs from Canon DPP (Digital Photo Professional) and Canon RIT (Raw Image Task):
http://davidnaylor.org/temp/Highlight-banding-comparison-side-by-side.png
Here is the same comparison as a PSD file with layers (so you can toggle visibility to see the differences more easily):
http://davidnaylor.org/temp/Highlight-banding-comparison-layers.psd
The fall-off around the sun is much more natural using both Canon's DPP and RIT. I'd say the banding is worst using ACR 4.4, but the other Adobe profiles also produce a sharp yellow circle around the sun which looks pretty ugly.
Also, I'm surprised that the camera matching profiles in Lightroom aren't closer to the DPP picture styles than they are. I was under the impression they were visibly identical.
This comparison was made with all the default settings used, i.e. brightness 50, contrast 25, medium contrast tone curve in Lightroom and contrast and saturation at 0 in DPP and RIT. White balance "as shot" in all apps.
Here is the raw original:
http://davidnaylor.org/temp/07463.cr2

IPhoto 8.1.2 to 9.4.2 upgrade issue.

My operating system is OS X 10.7.5.
My old version of iPhoto was 8.1.2.
Just purchased and installed iPhoto 9.4.2.
All event names are still listed.
78 of the 90 events have a gray sunset with palm tree as their key photo which must be a default, it's not mine. Their event names are correct. The event hints say they have 0 pictures. (they all should have pics).
The other 12 events have no key photo. The event hint says there are x number of photos, which is correct. Going into the event shows place holders for each picture, but there are no pictures.
What is the best fix to go forward? I really don't like going backward, software wise. I want to stay on version 9.4.2.

Do the following: apply the two fixes below in order as needed:
Fix #1
Launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys held down and rebuild the library.
Since only one option can be run at a time start with Option #3, followed by #4 and then #1 as needed.
Fix #2
Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
1 - download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.
2 - click on the Add Library button, navigate to your Home/Pictures folder and select your iPhoto Library folder.
3 - Now that the library is listed in the left hand pane of iPLM, click on your library and go to the File ➙ Rebuild Library menu option.
4 - In the next window name the new library and select the location you want it to be placed.
5 - Click on the Create button.
Note: This creates a new library based on the LIbraryData.xml file in the library and will recover Events, Albums, keywords, titles and comments. However, books, calendars, cards and slideshows will be lost. The original library will be left untouched for further attempts at fixing the problem or in case the rebuilt library is not satisfactory.
OT

Keyword and Smart Album question

I have a keyword named "sunset" that I use for all of my sunset pictures. In the keyword HUD it says I have 178.
I then created a smart album to display all of the sunset pics. Under the Keywords heading I have tick boxes for "sunset" and beneath it is a tick box for "sunset (time)". If I tick just "sunset" it displays 134 items. If I tick just "sunset (time)" it shows 219 items. If I tick both it shows 347 items. Both contain the keyword "sunset" and there are no obvious duplicates.
Can anyone tell me what's going on? I don't see a (anything) behind any other keywords.
Thanks in advance for your help.
John

John,
there is a predefined keyword "Sunset" in the "Photo Specs > Time" list of keywords.
When you added your own keyword "Sunset" you created a duplicate. Aperture distinguishes the two instances of "sunset" by adding the category "Time" to the predefined sunset, since it is defined as a subcategory of "Photo specs > Time > Sunset".
When you search in the Keywords HUD for Sunset, you should see this:
You could merge your sunset with the predefined sunset keyword, if you want to get rid of this duplicate. Or rename your keyword to my_sunset, or similar.

Removing empty photostream events

Since upgrading to 10.8.1 iPhoto is displaying events for every month since I turned on PhotoStream, even if the photos have all been moved elsewhere. The resulting events have the blank Sunset with palmtrees image and contain no photos. Is there a way to hide or remove these Events?

Sorry... I was at work and didn't have the version number in front of me... 9.3.2 I have a little over 17,000 photos in this Library (1 of 8) in 72 Events.
I tried draging one Event over another a couple times and they came back. This afternoon I used the Merge command from the Menu, Moved the resuting empty Even to the Trash and Emptied the Trash. After Quiting the program and reopening it, they did not return.
Aperature 3.3.2 is sharing this Library and when I just opened Aperature, they all came back.
This started when I updated the System to 10.8.1

Using Dodge and Burn Plug-in

I took a photo that I like of a sunset with trees in the foreground. I've been able to crop the worst of the powerlines out but I still have two remnant lines in the body of the photo.
I have tried to figure out the workflow on the dodge and burn tool to accomplish getting rid of these powerlines with no success. I have searched this forum and the manual for instructions for using this tool.
Does anyone have a workflow that would get rid of these powerlines? I do not have Photoshop nor do I intend to buy it.

Hi there,
If all you're wanting to do is remove powerlines, I'd suggest using the Spot and Patch tool instead of dodge and burn. This should clone out your powerlines and replace them with sky for a more natural effect.
I've not used it much, so you'll need to experiment a little with the settings, or look up tutorials or other forum threads here if you get stuck.
Andrew

Photoshop missing files

I am totally new to Photoshop elements, I copied all my photos over into the organizer and started to tag them. I noticed I would click on the photo and the photo would disapear, icon that comes up is like a torn photo, then I went to windows explorer and noticed a ton of my pictures look like they are gone, only showing an icon that has a sunset with a red box editing it. Whats going on? What did I do wrong? Any thoughts would be great...

First of all, you can't "copy" your photos into the Organizer. You "import" them. This is an important difference, its not just playing with words. PSE does not make copies of your photos for its own use ... it uses the photos from your hard disk right where you put them.
Your symptoms indicate there is some problem with the photos on your hard disk. It would help if you could tell us a few details. Such as: What version of PSE? What operating system? What is the exact name of one of these files that is having the problem (including the file extension, such as .jpg)? What kind of drive are the photos on (i.e., internal, external, network, USB, etc.)? What is the size, in pixel dimensions, of these photos? Exactly how did you import the photos into PSE?

Podcast error -61

I download several podcasts every day. Suddenly none of my subscribed podcasts will download - they all give me the same error message: "stopped (err = -61)" What's up with that? Can anyone give me a clue?

Howzit Colin,
Actually I was hoping that they didn't end up in my iTunes Library! Why? Because when it's time to use your library to shuffle some music for your party that you're throwing. The last thing you need is an old Amy Goodman's podcast of "Demoracy Now", coming on after you just listened to U2!!! Or if I was still single I could see how that could really be a problem. Imagine Colin, you been working on this one chick for weeks, you have her over to your place. You want to set the mood for the evening so you put on iTunes, a couple of great songs come on to get the evening rolling. Then, just when you get to make your move. All of the sudden you hear ," This is TWIT, 'this week in tech episode 24 Sept 21 2005, and I'm Leo Laporte". Great podcast, and I love Leo Laporte, and what they are doing there. But there is a time and a place for everything, and when you're getting ready to walk off into the sunset with Buxom betty. That is not the time for 'twit', if you know what I mean? That's basically why I don't need them in my library.
But are you saying, if the blue dot isn't next to podcast, then it has been deleted from the library?
There must be an easier way than deleting them one by one?

Podcast problem #61

seems all my podcast that I download end up in my iTunes Library. How do I stop my Mac from putting them in the library? Currently, I drag & drop each one individually in the trash!
Help please!!!!
mahalo,
Roger

Howzit Colin,
Actually I was hoping that they didn't end up in my iTunes Library! Why? Because when it's time to use your library to shuffle some music for your party that you're throwing. The last thing you need is an old Amy Goodman's podcast of "Demoracy Now", coming on after you just listened to U2!!! Or if I was still single I could see how that could really be a problem. Imagine Colin, you been working on this one chick for weeks, you have her over to your place. You want to set the mood for the evening so you put on iTunes, a couple of great songs come on to get the evening rolling. Then, just when you get to make your move. All of the sudden you hear ," This is TWIT, 'this week in tech episode 24 Sept 21 2005, and I'm Leo Laporte". Great podcast, and I love Leo Laporte, and what they are doing there. But there is a time and a place for everything, and when you're getting ready to walk off into the sunset with Buxom betty. That is not the time for 'twit', if you know what I mean? That's basically why I don't need them in my library.
But are you saying, if the blue dot isn't next to podcast, then it has been deleted from the library?
There must be an easier way than deleting them one by one?

Trouble with Sunset pictures posterizing in iMovie & iDVD

I have sunset photos taken in Aruba with a Canon EOS 40 D camera shot in RAW at high resolution. I use Photoshop CS4 to print, use iPhoto 9, Aperture 2 and Lightroom 2 for slideshows, and they all look great; however, when I bring a picture into iMovie and/or iDVD because I want to burn a DVD with music, all of the sunset photos become posterized, but any other photos appear fine. Sunset pictures are not posterized in iPhoto 9, Aperture 2, Lightroom 2, and even Adobe Premiere Elements in Windows XP. What is happening and how do I avoid this? The only way I have found is to desaturate the photos, but then they do not look like a sunset picture and it defeats the purpose. Your help is appreciated.

Yes. I have tried the highest quality JPEGs, and when that did not work I also tried Tiffs. It did not seem to make any difference. Thanks for your question. I thought perhaps it was an export problem from iPhoto, etc., so I then just tried dragging the photos into iMovie and/or iDVD. That did not help either. It appears both programs compress the files when they are opened. I am hoping there is a workaround for it.

Post-process a sunset photo with Photoshop CS4

I recently took a nice photo of a desert sunset photo at Joshua Tree, CA. I think the photo looks great, but I am sure it would look much better with a little post-processing help from CS4. For those of you that use CS4, what do you normally do to a sunset photo in CS4 to make it look "show" quality? Any advice I can get would be greatly appreciated.
Stephen Reeves,
Hobby photographer

Stephen - This is a classic example of an image that begs to be converted to L*a*b and worked on in that color space. Of course, it's better to start with an original raw file, and sunset gradients are notorious for banding when manipulated from jpegs, but you'll get the idea. What I did here was to convert to L*a*b and then make a Curves Adjustment Layer, steepening the "a" and "b" channel curves, but instead of the usual method of keeping the center point neutral, I let the "a" channel go toward magenta and the "b" channel go both yellow and deeper blue at the same time. That was great for the sky but a but much for the foreground, so I masked about fifty percent off the foreground with a couple of brush swipes. Convert back to RGB and a quick Curves Adjustment Layer to darken the top and bottom of the image to add even more drama. What started out as a fairly bland image is now a lot more interesting. One of the big advantages of Lab over whatever the previous poster tried is that Lab maintains, and in fact, added some warm color to the highlight area of the sunset. While this is an advanced correction technique, it's also one that is very fast and very effective. And take into account this was done in CS1 with a trackpad on a non calibrated laptop, but you get the idea.

How do take a sunrise or sunset picture with iphone 5

how do you take a sunrise or sunset picture with iphone 5? I don't want the purple haze in the picture.
Thanks!

No one here can answer that. You might contact the repair facility for information.
Barry

Sunsets with SX 50

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